behind, soon driven along, weakened from 5f out
held up, soon chasing leaders, led over 8f out, ridden and headed over 2f out, weakened over 1f out
held up, headway 7f out, shaken up to lead over 2f out, stayed on well, pushed out
held up, mid-division, weakened over 4f out
held up towards rear, headway 6f out, lost place over 4f out
held up, mid-division, effort 4f out, challenged over 2f out, soon ridden, kept on, no impression on winner
led, ridden and headed over 8f out, weakened over 2f out, eased over 1f out
chased leaders, lost place 8f out
chased leader, kept on same pace from 2f out
towards rear, weakened 5f out
BOLLIN FELIX had an entry in the Old Borough Cup at Haydock on Saturday and judged on that, he should be hard to beat; Squirtle and Dr Sharp join Winged D'Argent on the shortlist. Not a bad stayers' race this and most of the field act on poor ground. Bollin Felix goes through it like John Prescott eats a pie and Tim Easterby's gelding gets our vote. Despite now being handicapped up to the hilt, the selection ran well behind Lady Dedlock recently at Newmarket in a fair race and the ground was also not quite desperate enough; a big run is on the cards today. Dr Sharp ran well recently at Chester to suggest that he is ready to strike. Although held by Winged D'Argent on their Newcastle clash in June he should not be underestimated here. Hollins is unexposed and should appreciate the return to a longer trip, Numero Due is a course and distance winner, whilst Kasthari is well-handicapped on old form but is not in good nick. Squirtle goes very well here and should be a player from the bottom of the handicap, however with Toldo preferring better ground we are happy to take a chance with Bollin Felix.
Winged d'Argent (IRE) 14-1 (8-0) Mid-division, lost place over 5f out, soon struggling, no chance final 2f, 10th of 14, 6l behind Metaphoric (9-6) at Ascot 2m hcp (2) gs in Jul.
Kasthari (IRE) 16-1 (9-6) Always in rear, 10th of 12, 19l behind Jagger (9-2) at Great Leighs 1m 6f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Aug.
Bollin Felix 9-2 (10-0) Led 2f, remained prominant, under pressure over 3f out, weakened over 2f out, 3rd of 8, 6l behind Lady Dedlock (8-13) at Newmarket 2m hcp 0-90 (3) gs in Aug.
Numero Due 9-2 (9-1) Led, ridden, headed over 3f out, weakened well over 1f out, 6th of 7, 13l behind Four Miracles (8-13) at York 2m 2f hcap (3) gf in Jul.
Toldo (IRE) 10-1 (9-1) Mid-division, ridden over 4f out, no impression from over 2f out, 8th of 12, well behind Ella (8-13) at York 1m 4f hcp 0-100 (2) hvy in Jul.
Sphinx (FR) 11-2 (10-0) Held up, ridden and headway over 3f out, one pace final 2f, 4th of 8, 5l behind Let It Be (8-12) at Beverley 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Aug.
Dr Sharp (IRE) 10-1 (9-7) Chased leader, led over 7f out, pushed along 3f out, headed over 1f out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 8, 1l behind Ainama (10-0) at Chester 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Aug.
Hollins 11-1 (9-13) Led, ridden along 4f out, headed over 2f out, weakened final furlong, 5th of 13, 11l behind Another Moment (9-10) at Catterick 1m 4f mdn stk (5) gs in Aug.
Mith Hill 25-1 (8-2) Mid-division, ridden 3f out, headway from 2f out, stayed on to take 3rd towards finish, 3rd of 18, 3l behind Baddam (9-4) at Goodwood 2m 5f hcp 0-95 (2) gf in Jul.
Squirtle (IRE) 10-1 (8-13) Slowly into stride, mid-division, lost place 5f out, rallied over 1f out, stayed on well towards finish, 4th of 8, 1l behind Ainama (10-0) at Chester 2m hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Aug.
